According to the director and producers of the HBO documentary “Hard Times at Douglass High,” the aim of the film was to highlight the failures of the “No Child Left Behind” policy of the current administration. Filmed during the 2004-05 academic year, the documentary identified and amplified the struggles associated with the socio-economic conditions of the school and Baltimore, the state’s indifference to proper funding of public education in an urban environment, the struggles of the school’s administration, as well as the lack of commitment on the part of most parents and students.
The film made little, if any, mention of the good teachers who worked hard at the school daily, or the many fine students who attended the school regularly. The film further failed to identify the involvement of the Historic Frederick Douglass High School Alumni Association Inc., whose members were a daily presence during the project and worked with the producers.
In 2005, when the school was placed on the list of schools to be taken over by the state, the alumni association worked to ensure our beloved alma mater would not come to that end. We launched a grassroots campaign to inform government representatives on the federal, state and local levels that the state takeover of Frederick Douglass High School was not an option. Lt. Gov. Michael Steele recommended assigning the management of Frederick Douglass High School to Coppin State University. We opposed that plan and expressed our desire to initiate the reform process.
Throughout 2006 into early 2007, the Frederick Douglass High School Improvement Team, the Frederick Douglass High School Alumni Association and a special group of interested citizens created the proposal to reconstitute Frederick Douglass High School. On Feb. 27, 2007, the proposal was accepted by the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, and subsequently the Maryland State Department of Education. This proposal created an alternative governance model, composed of a partnership among Frederick Douglass High School, the newly created governance board and Johns Hopkins University. This governance structure was the first of its kind for a public high school in the United States.
On March 5, 2007, the board of directors of the Historic Frederick Douglass High School Alumni Association, in conjunction with faculty, staff and students, assumed responsibility for supervising/planning staffing at the school, scheduling, contracting with Johns Hopkins, coordinating with other colleges, community leaders, businesses and others. During this transitional period, key staff changes were made, and many uncertified teachers were purged from the staff.
The 2007-08 academic year gave us many reasons to be optimistic about the future of Frederick Douglass High School. Smaller academies have been established, academic rigor and expectations have been raised, the number of Advanced Placement and honors courses has dramatically increased, a freshman seminar course has been implemented to teach study and organizational skills, and a character education program was created.
In addition, the nationally acclaimed Talent Development High School model, which provides intensive professional development and team-teaching support for teachers, has been implemented, as well as pre- and post-testing. Test data are being carefully monitored to measure the effects of these changes. The governance board will continue to oversee changes under way.
There is much work still to be done. We are calling on all stakeholders, alumni, associates and friends to support the Historic Frederick Douglass High School Alumni Association in its efforts to reverse the decline in quality education, and restore Frederick Douglass High School to its standards of “Pride, Dignity and Excellence.”
Patricia Rhodes is president of the Historic Frederick Douglass High School Alumni Association Inc., and Richard Holley is chairman of the Frederick Douglass High School Governance Board. Reach them at [email protected] or Frederick Douglass High School Alumni Association Inc., P.O. Box 25151, Baltimore, MD 21229-0251.
